History and influences

Malays during the pre-Hispanic era in the Philippines prepared food by boiling, steaming, or roasting. This ranged from the usual livestock such as carabao (water buffaloes), cows(?), chickens and pigs to seafood from different kinds of fish, shrimps, prawns, crustaceans and shellfish. There are a few places in the country where the broad range in their diet extended to monitor lizards, dogs and locusts. Malays have been cultivating rice, an Asian staple since 3200 B.C.[1] Pre-Hispanic trade with China, India, the Middle-East and the rest of Southeast Asia introduced a number of staples into Filipino cuisine most notably toyo (soy sauce) and patis (fish sauce), as well as the method of stir-frying and making savory soup bases.

The Filipino style of cooking has evolved through the years and resulted from the fusion of influences by different culinary arts from around the Asian region. During the Spanish and American occupation of the country, many styles of cooking have been borrowed from these two countries and were soon improved upon, tried with different ingredients which resulted to numerous offshoots from the original recipes.[1]

The arrival of Spanish settlers brought with them chili peppers, tomato sauces, corn and method of sauteeing with garlic and onions called guisado finding their way into Philippine cuisine. They also braised food with vinegar and spices to preserve the food due to no refrigeration. They had a variety of sources in their diet. Local adaptations of Spanish dishes then became common such as paella into its Pilipino version of arroz valenciana, Chorizo into its local version of Longganisa, escabeche and adobo [this is connected to the Spanish dish adobado] remain popular to this day.

During the nineteenth century, Chinese food became a staple of the panciterias or noodle shops around the country, although they were marketed with Spanish names. "Comida China" (Chinese food) includes arroz caldo (rice and chicken gruel) and morisqueta tostada (an obsolete term for sinangag or fried rice).

Since 1900 when American colonial rule began, Philippine cuisine has been influenced by American, French, Italian, and Japanese cuisines and culinary procedures.[2] Today, Philippine cuisine continues to evolve as new techniques and styles of cooking finds their way into one of the most active melting pots of Asia.

Staples

As with most Asian countries, the staple food in the Philippines is rice. It is most often boiled and served during most main meals. Leftover rice is often fried with garlic and onions to make sinangag (fried rice), which is then served as breakfast staple together with fried eggs and tapa (Beef), tocino (sweetened cured meat), longanisa (local sausages) or bacon. Rice is often flavored by the diner with sauces or soup from the main dishes. In some regions, rice is mixed with salt, condensed milk, cocoa, or coffee. Rice flour is used in making sweets, cakes and other pastries. Other staples derived from crops include corn and bread.

Food is often served with dipping sauces. Fried food is often dipped in vinegar, soy sauce, juice squeezed from kalamansi (Philippine lime), or a combination of all. Fish sauce may be mixed with kalamansi as dipping sauce for most seafood.

Native fruits are often used in cooking as well. Coconuts, coconut milk, coconut meat, tomato, tomato sauce, and bananas are usually added into meals.

Abundant harvest of root crops occurs all year round. Potatoes, carrots, taro (gabi), cassava (kamoteng kahoy), purple yam (ube), and sweet yam (kamote) are examples. Kamote and a certain type of banana called saba can be chopped, dusted with brown sugar, fried and skewered, yielding kamote-cue and banana-cue which are popular caramelized snacks.

The most common way of serving fish is having it salted, deep fried, and eaten as a simple meal with rice and vegetables. It may also be cooked in sour broth, tomatoes, tamarind, and vegetables to make sinigang or simmered in vinegar and peppers to make paksiw or roasted over hot charcoal to make inihaw. Other preparations include escabeche (sweet and sour) or relleno (deboned and stuffed). Fish may also be preserved by processing it into tinapa (smoked), and daing (sun-dried).

Breakfast

Traditional breakfast usually includes the following:

Pan de sal - is derived from Spanish words for "bread of salt". Contrary to its name, it contains relatively little salt and is actually a sweet bread roll which can be spread with butter, jam, marmalade, peanut butter or kesong puti.

Champorado - is a type of rice porridge flavored with chocolate. It is not to be confused with Mexican champurrado which is a hot chocolate drink.

Sinangag - is fried garlic rice, often served with one or two meat dishes.

Tapa - is local variety of cured meat similar to jerky, served with fried eggs and sinangag.

Longganisa - is a local chorizo or sausage, served with fried eggs and sinangag.

Tocino - is sweetened cured meat, served with fried eggs and sinangag.

Daing na Bangus - means salted and dried milkfish. It is often served with sinangag and fried eggs as well as tomato slices, vinegar or achara.

Itlog na Pula - are salted duck eggs usually served with tomatoes, onions, and sinangag. Literally means "red egg" in reference to the fact that they are often dyed red to differentiate them from regular eggs.

Kape barako - is a variety of coffee produced in the mountains of Batangas. It is noted for having a strong flavor.

Silog - is a portmanteau used to refer to meat dishes that are most often served with sinangág (fried rice) and itlog (egg).

Merienda

Merienda is a snack taken in the afternoons, similar to the concept of afternoon tea. Filipinos have a number of options to take with their traditional kape (coffee). Additionally, if the meal is taken close to dinner, it is called merienda cena, which may qualify as dinner itself.

Breads like pan de sal, ensaymada, (buttery sweet rolls with cheese), and empanada (ground chicken-filled bread rolls) are served. Also, rice cakes (kakanin) like kutsinta, sapin-sapin, palitaw, biko, suman, bibingka, and pitsi-pitsi are served. Other sweets such as hopia (pastries similar to mooncakes filled with sweet bean paste, sometimes flavored) and bibingka (sweet hot rice cakes with salted eggs and cheese on top) are also favorites. Savory dishes such as pancit canton (stir-fried noodles), palabok (rice noodles with a shrimp-based sauce), tokwa't baboy (fried tofu with boiled pork ears in a garlic-flavored soy sauce and vinegar sauce), puto (steamed rice flour cakes), and dinuguan (a spicy stew made with pork blood) can also be served during merienda.

In recent years, snack served in between breakfast and lunch has been common during special occasions such as day long symposiums and workshops. However, this does not qualify as traditional merienda as the term officially applies to afternoon snacks as traditionally practiced by Filipinos.

Pulutan

Pulutan (literally "something that is picked") is a word which means "finger food". It originally served to indicate a snack accompanied with liquor or beer but has found their way into Philippine cuisine as appetizers or, in some cases, main dishes, as in the case of sisig.

Chicharong Bituka or Chibab - are pig intestines that have been deep fried to a crisp.

Chicharong Bulaklak or Chilak - is similar to chicharong bituka. Bulaklak translates to flower which aptly describes the appearance of the dish which is made from the deep fried mesenteries of pig intestines. It is also similar to fried chitlins seen in southern U.S. cuisine.

Chicken Skin or Chink - is chicken skin that has been deep fried until crispy.

Sisig - is a popular pulutan made from the pork's cheek skin, ears and liver. Initially boiled, then grilled over charcoal, then minced and cooked with chopped onions, chillies, and spices. Usually served sizzling on a hot plate.

A typical meal

Filipino cuisine is distinguished by its bold combination of sweet, sour, salty and spicy taste, though most dishes are not typically spicy. While other Asian cuisines (e.g. Cantonese) may be known for a more subtle delivery and presentation of food, Filipino palates prefer a sudden influx of flavor. It can be said that it is more flamboyant, as Filipino cuisine is often delivered in a single presentation, giving the participant a simultaneous visual feast, an aromatic bouquet, and a gustatory appetizer.

Snacking is normal, and it is possible that a Filipino could have eaten five meals in a day. Dinner, while still the main meal, is usually eaten in smaller quantities compared to other countries. Usually, either breakfast or lunch is the heftiest of all meals.

Some dishes will rely on vinegar for flavoring. Adobo is popular not solely for its splendid flavor, but also for its ability to remain fresh for days, and even improves its flavor with a day or two of storage. Tinapa is a smoke-cured fish while Tuyo, daing, and dangit are corned sun-dried fishes popular for its ability not to spoil for weeks even without refrigeration.

Food is eaten with a spoon and fork. Filipinos use their spoons to cut through meat instead of knives used in other western cultures. Another traditional way of eating is with the hands especially when meals consist mostly of dry dishes like inihaw or prito. The diner takes a bite at the dish and simultaneously stuff his mouth with rice pressed skillfully into a ball with his fingers. In some areas of the Philippines, diners are able to form balls of rice even if it is soaking in broth. This practice, known as kamayan, is rarely seen in urbanized areas. However, Filipinos tend to feel the spirit of kamayan when eating amidst nature during out of town trips, beach vacations, and town fiestas.[3]

Fiestas

A few Filipino women band together and tirelessly prepare more sophisticated dishes at festive occasions. Tables are often laden with expensive and labor-intensive treats requiring hours of preparation. Lechón, a whole roasted suckling pig, takes centerstage. Other sophisticated dishes prepared include hamonado (honey-cured beef, pork or chicken), relleno (stuffed chicken or milkfish), mechado, afritada, kaldereta, pochero, paella, arroz valenciana, and pancit canton. The table may also be decorated with various sweets and pastries such as leche flan, ube, sapin-sapin, sorbetes (ice cream), and gulaman (jello).

Christmas Eve, known as Noche Buena, is the most important feast. During this evening, the star of the table is the Christmas Ham and Queso de Bola. Supermarkets are laden with these treats during the season and serve as popular giveaways by Filipino companies in addition to red wine or pastries.

Regional specialties

The Philippine islands are home to various ethnic groups resulting in varied regional cuisine.

Ilocanos from the rugged Ilocos region boast of a diet heavy in boiled or steamed vegetables and freshwater fish, as in the dish dinengdeng. They are particularly fond of dishes flavored with bagoong, fermented fish that is often used instead of salt. Ilocanos often season boiled vegetables with bagoong monamon (fermented anchovy paste) to produce pinakbet. Local specialties include the soft white larvae of ants and "jumping salad" of tiny live shrimp.

Pampanga is the culinary center of the Philippines. Among the treats produced in Pampanga are longganisa (original sweet and spicy sausages), kalderetang kambing (savory goat stew), and tocino (sweetened-cured pork). Kapampangan cuisine makes use of every regional produce available to the native cook, combining pork cheeks and offal to make sisig. Kare-kare is also known to have been originated from Pampanga.

Laguna is known for buko pie (coconut pie) and panutsa (molasses clustered peanuts).

Batangas is home to Taal Lake, a body of water that surrounds Taal Volcano. The lake is home to 75 species of freshwater fish. And of these, the maliputo and tawilis are two of the world's rarest. Maliputos and tawilises are delicious native delicacies. Batangas is also known for its special coffee, kapeng barako.

Mami - Variant of noodle soup. The main ingredient can be either chicken, beef, pork, wonton dumplings, or intestines (called laman-loob). Invented by Ma Mon Luk. Served in some Chinese restaurants and "tea houses".

Sinigang - is a tamarind-soured soup typically made with pork, beef, or seafood.

Banana-cue - plantain skewered on a stick, dipped in brown sugar, and fried. The Philippine plantain is of a thick and smallish size.

Betamax - is roasted dried chicken blood served as little cubes. The origin of the name is quite funny because of its squared shape and black color, which is identical in appearance to a miniaturized electronic Betamax tape.

Fishballs/Squidballs - are skewered in bamboo sticks and sauces are then dripped over them. It is commonly sold frozen in stores and typically peddled by hawkers.

Isaw - is seasoned hog and/or chicken intestines.

Kwek-kwek - are boiled quail eggs dipped in batter then deep fried, a popular delicacy.

Tokneneng - are boiled chicken eggs dipped in batter usually marked with food coloring. It is a bigger version of the kwek-kwek.

Celebratory Food

Lechón - is whole roasted suckling pig. Sometimes, either a piglet (lechonillo, or lechon de leche) or cattle calf (lechong baka) is baked instead. See also Wiktionary.

Puto Bumbong - are purpled-colored sweets cooked in bamboo tubes that are placed on a special steamer. When cooked, they are removed from the tubes, topped with butter, and sprinkled with sugar and niyog (grated coconut). They are then wrapped in banana leaves until they are ready to be eaten. See also Wiktionary.

Itlog na Pula - are salty duck eggs that have been cured in brine or mixture of clay-and-salt for couple of weeks and then are hard boiled. Their shells are often dyed with red food coloring to distinguish them from chicken eggs before they are sold over the shelves.

Pinikpikan chicken - chicken which has been beaten to death. Cooks do this to tenderize the meat and to infuse it with blood. It is then burned in fire to remove its feathers then boiled with salt and pork. [2][3][4] The act of beating the chicken while done in preparation of the dish apparently violates the Philippine Animal Welfare Act 1998.[4]

Also see: Igorot Food Exotica
Tamilok- a wood worm who infest bakawan or other mangroves by the bayside. Best eaten when it is raw.

Filipino drinks and cocktails

The climate of the Philippines is characterized by having relatively high temperature, high humidity and abundant rainfall. This is a reason why chilled drinks are popular.

Gin-Bulag - literally translates to "gin-blind." It is said that consuming copious amounts will make one blind.

Lambanog - is a type of hard liquor made from distilled coconut extract.

Tuba (or toddy) - is a type of hard liquor made from fresh drippings extracted from a cut young stem of palm. The cutting of the palm stem is done by a mananguete — a person whose profession involves climbing palm trees and extracting the "tuba" to supply to customers later in the day — and is usually done early in the morning. The morning accumulated palm juice or drippings from a cut stem is then harvested by noon then brought to buyers then prepared for consumption. Sometimes this is being done twice a day so that there are two harvests of tuba in a day — first at noon-time and later in the late-afternoon. Normally, tuba has to be consumed right after the mananguete brings it over or it becomes too sour to be consumed as a drink so that any remaining unconsumed tuba in the day is being stored in jars for several days to become vinegar.

Fruit Shakes - are similar to milkshakes but only contain fruit or flavoring (like chocolate malt drink powder or chocolate cookies or unusual flavors like durian), milk (except in some fruits), crushed ice, water and sugar.

Gulaman at Sago - is a flavored iced-drink with agar gelatin and sago balls/pearls. Banana extract is added to the accompanying syrup.

Fresh Buko Juice - is a fresh drink from a young green (not mature) coconut where the coconut is penetrated to allow straw into the membrane allowing a person to drink its juice. On option, the coconut can be opened afterwards to scrape and eat its flesh.

Kalamansi Juice - consists of Philippine limes, particularly the kalamansi itself, that are squeezed and sweetened with honey, syrup or sugar.

Other food

The Philippines doesn't only possess its traditional cuisine. Popular worldwide cuisine and restaurant chains are also available around the archipelago. Furthermore, the Chinese populace (especially in Manila) is famous for establishing Chinese districts, in which predominantly Chinese and Chinese fusion food can be found. These are especially prevalent in urban areas where large influxes of expatriates are located.

References

^The Animal Welfare Act 1998. Retrieved on 2006-12-04. “In all the above mentioned cases, including those of cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, poultry, rabbits, carabaos, horses, deer and crocodiles the killing of the animals shall be done through humane procedures at all times.”